Installing Content Specific Filename Systems

1. A method of installing computer software on a target computer having an operating system including a registry, the target computer having an associated target medium, the method comprising the steps of: providing a listing of file references containing content-specific filenames stored in the registry of the target computer associated with the target medium; determining at run time whether a file having one of the content-specific filenames in the listing is present on the target medium; and copying a file having the one content-specific filename from a source medium to the target medium upon determining at run time that the file having the one content-specific filename is not present on the target medium.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the content-specific filename is a globally-unique identifier for the contents of the file.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of creating a content-specific filename prior to the step of providing a listing of file references containing content-specific filenames, the step of creating a content-specific filename comprising the further step of generating a character string by processing the contents of the file through a message digest module to create a message digest that characterizes the file contents.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising the step of processing the message digest through a text encoder to create a character string of predetermined length.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the text encoder provides a predetermined prefix in the character string.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the content-specific filename is generated based on processing the contents of the file.

7. A tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps comprising: providing a listing of content-specific filenames stored in a registry of a target computer associated a target medium; determining at run time whether a file having one of the content-specific filenames in the listing is present on the target medium; and copying a file having the one content-specific filename from a source medium to the target medium upon determining at run time that the file having the one content-specific filename is not present on the target medium.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the content-specific filename is a globally-unique identifier for the contents of the file.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the steps further comprise the step of creating a content-specific filename prior to the step of providing a listing of content-specific filenames, the step of creating a content-specific filename comprising the further step of generating a character string by processing the contents of the file through a message digest module to create a message digest that characterizes the file contents.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the steps further comprise the step of processing the message digest through a text encoder to create a character string of predetermined length.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the text encoder provides a predetermined prefix in the character string.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the content-specific filename is generated based on processing the contents of the file.